Raiders Pre-Game Notes—Week 2, Brock Bowers Playing?

We are back once again for your one-stop shop for everything you need to know heading into this week’s matchup between the Las Vegas Raiders and the Los Angeles Chargers. Sin City will host its home opener on Monday Night Football this year, facing off against a bitter divisional rival. To prepare you for the game, we have gathered news, gambling and fantasy advice, and everything else you need, all in one convenient location!

Vibes

The Raiders are bringing a lot of momentum into Week 2. They began the season with a cross-country win over the New England Patriots. They aim to keep that momentum going this week as they face off against the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday Night Football. However, this will be a challenging task. The Chargers performed well in their season-opening victory against the Chiefs in Brazil. They are looking to gain a significant advantage in the AFC West by securing two divisional wins to start the season.

Injury News

As of now, it is still a bit early to determine who will definitely be unavailable. For the Raiders, Brock Bowers returned to practice on Saturday, which is excellent news for Raider Nation after he missed practices on Thursday and Friday. Another Raider not practicing much this week is linebacker Elandon Roberts. Luckily, Las Vegas is fairly deep at that position if he is out on Monday night.

Finally Jackson Powers-Johnson found his way onto the injury report on Friday to add to the carnage. The Chargers have linebacker concerns of their own. Whether Denzel Perryman and Del’Shawn Phillips will play remains in question. Cornerback Tarheeb Still has also been limited this week, which might leave the Los Angeles defense hampered on Monday night.

Fantasy Focus

This is a week to stay away from the defenses and running backs but target quarterbacks and receivers. Both Justin Herbert and Geno Smith could be good starts this week. Jakobi Meyers and Ladd McConkey are both must-starts, as they should each feast upon suspect cornerbacks. Quentin Johnston and Dont’e Thornton are also intriguing, but you may want to see how consistently they produce before playing them. Finally, rookie running backs Ashton Jeanty and Omarion Hampton may be worth starting simply because of volume, but do not expect either to be much more than high-end RB2s right now.

Gambling Corner

Even after the upset last week, it is hard to love the Raiders’ moneyline this time around. At +154, the value is just not good enough for a matchup that is difficult to feel great about. Even the spread can go either way at 3.5 points. That being said, over 46.5 total points is a fantastic play. Also, Thornton to score a touchdown looks great at +310. He figures to be the number two option in the passing game with Bowers out.

Expectations For Raiders Fans

Raiders fans should anticipate an intense game. We have two high-powered passing games going against two weak secondaries. However, the Raiders are unlikely to emerge victorious. The potential absence of Bowers is likely going to cripple the offense significantly. Furthermore, Las Vegas struggled mightily last week when it came to dealing with blitzes. Now they take on a great blitz-happy defense, and they may have to do so without one of their starting offensive linemen. It could be a long night, but trust Smith to at least keep the Raiders in this one.

Final Prediction: Raiders 27, Chargers 31